1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to the field of gates, and more particularly, gates used for agricultural and ranching purposes. The present invention provides a unique vertically and horizontally swinging gate that allows farmers and ranchers to place gates in situations where the terrain is uneven and that is designed to maintain the durability of the gate over long periods of use.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the problems faced by farmers and ranchers is the inability of currently available gates to maintain a constant distance between the bottom of the gate and the ground while the gate is opened and closed over uneven terrain, such as a ditch or snow bank. A widely used gate for agricultural and ranching purposes is the POWDER RIVER gate, which consists generally of a series of evenly spaced horizontal steel tubes. The gate does not swivel vertically, and it does not maintain a constant distance between the bottom of the gate and the ground over differing levels of terrain as the gate opens and closes.
One inventor attempted to solve this problem over a century ago by coming up with a farm or stock-yard gate that was constructed so that it could be lifted clear of the ground to a maximum of forty-four degrees from the gate post and opened or shut in that position. U.S. Pat. No. 582,427 (Keller, 1897). Unlike the present invention, the gate of the Keller invention could not swing to a full vertical position, it could not swing downward as well as upward, and the mechanism that allowed the gate to swivel—a double rail system—is vastly different from and much less versatile than that of the present invention.
Various other railing-type mechanisms have been devised to deal with the issue of uneven ground, but none of these inventions is a gate, and therefore none of these inventions provides a railing that is able to maintain its distance to the ground while moving horizontally. One example of a vertically adjustable railing-type mechanism that is not a gate is the temporary fall protection system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,880 (Hawks, Jr., 2001). The Hawks system comprises fixed length guard rails and pivot stanchions, and it is intended to be deployed on construction sites over stairs or similarly uneven surfaces.
Another example is the interchangeable fence or guard rail structure of U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,475 (Enghauser, 1958). The Enghauser invention comprises support posts and prefabricated rail sections, wherein each rail section has a pair of longitudinal stringers with spaced vertical palings pivotally connected to the stringers. The latter invention was intended to be used on porches to provide a hand rail and to prevent people from falling off the porch.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0122117 (Brown) discloses another modular railing system for construction sites that utilizes baluster units to connect the rail sets. As with the Hawks and Enghauser inventions, the Brown invention is not a gate, and it does not address the problem of opening and closing a gate over uneven terrain.
In addition to the patents described above, there are three patents, all issued approximately a century ago, that attempt to deal with the issue of providing greater flexibility in fences. In U.S. Pat. No. 629,529 (Simmons, 1899), the inventor described a portable fence that could be erected on level or hilly ground. The fence rails of the Simmons invention were pivotally connected to the vertical bars, which allowed the fence panel to be installed “in a true horizontal position or at a slight inclination.”
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,095,459 (Davis, 1914), the inventor disclosed a fence with sections that move vertically in relation to the fence posts. The fence rails of the Davis invention could be moved upward, but not to the degree of the present invention, and they could not be moved horizontally.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 485,197 (Jacobs, 1892) provides a fence design that was intended to overcome the tendency of a fence to collapse endwise. The Jacobs invention entails binding the posts and rails of each fence panel together at their points of intersection. In addition to overcoming the problem of opening a gate over uneven terrain, the present invention also tackles the problem that Jacobs sought to solve, namely, the problem of fence collapse. The present invention addresses this issue by redistributing some of the weight of the gate from the gate posts and rails to a moveable post with a wheel that rests on the ground. This novel design ensures the gate's long-lasting durability.